


Dragons in a Heart

by elizabeth66



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Flashbacks, Gen, Memories, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Padawan Anakin Skywalker, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Sad times for Vader in his overly dramatic castle on Mustafar, Young Anakin Skywalker, bant eerin is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25479379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabeth66/pseuds/elizabeth66
Summary: Anakin had only been at the temple for a few weeks. Everything was so new, and cold, and loud. He didn’t have all the possessions that had cluttered his room back on Tatooine.He had one thing, though. Some knight had given Master Obi Wan a small stuffed toy to give to Anakin, saying that even though he was old, kids still loved toys.Vader remembers a better time.
Relationships: Bant Eerin & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	Dragons in a Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this all in the last like hour and I was slightly distracted because BASEBALL IS BACK (if anyone would like to have a discussion about baseball/MLB please feel free to comment) anyway if the writing isn't like my other stories that might be why. 
> 
> I've never written Vader/non-Clone Wars era content before and it was a strange experience and not one I particularly enjoyed. I think I'll stick to Clone Wars :/
> 
> I did say I do write happy stuff! Well, this might not be happy, but it's close enough
> 
> Also this is definitely a bit ooc Vader but eh who cares. 
> 
> Other than that, enjoy!

There was no Anakin Skywalker anymore.

Anakin Skywalker had been consumed, destroyed by the dragon that burned bright inside him. Eventually, if you cannot control the dragon, it will overtake you. 

There was no Anakin Skywalker, no, but at times he was not Darth Vader. He did not know who he was, in those times, only that he used to have a life other than this. Other than the constant, torrential pain.

He remembered that life. Well, he could’ve remembered, but it was too painful. It was easier to simply embrace Vader, embrace the dragon, and forget everything he had lost. 

The times where he slipped, slipped away from Vader, away from Palpatine, even if only in his mind, were never fun. Because he always came back. And it was easy, embracing the dark, but that didn’t mean that sometimes his soul didn’t scream at him that this was  _ wrong _ . 

He was in his fortress when the news came in. Death Star scientist killed. Jedha destroyed. Those were the big headlines, the things that whoever vetted the information he received deemed the most important (he made a mental note to summon Director Krennic. He would need to have a word with that foolhardy man about destroying Jedha. The Senate would not be happy with that, and a convincing lie would be needed.) But instead of focusing on those, he looked over the smaller reports of rebel activity. He had always admired how Admiral Thrawn saw the tiniest details as the largest opportunities, and as such spent his time looking for connections within the small activities.

_ Prisoner Liana Hallik rescued by rebels from prison on Wobani. _

Wobani. 

He hadn’t even known they had a prison there. He hadn’t even known a place with such a name  _ existed _ .

Wobani. 

Vader squeezed his eyes shut, trying to repress the memory.  _ Peace is a lie. Peace is a lie. Peace is a-- _

Anakin had only been at the temple for a few weeks. Everything was so new, and cold, and loud. He didn’t have all the possessions that had cluttered his room back on Tatooine.

He had one thing, though. Some knight had given Master Obi Wan a small stuffed toy to give to Anakin, saying that even though he was old, kids still loved toys. The toy wasn’t of any species Anakin was aware of, and everyone he had asked hadn’t had a clue as to what the toy could be. It was grey, and the size of his hand, and had six… legs? Antennae? Montrals? The features were quite hard for Anakin to distinguish.

But he didn’t care. He liked it anyway. 

The only problem was that he had no idea what to name it.

Anakin sat at the table in he and Obi Wan’s shared quarters, frowning at the stuffed toy in front of him. Obi Wan was in his room trying to sleep, even though it was the middle of the day. It was frustrating that Master Kenobi was in his room “sleeping” so often, Anakin wanted to train and work on the Force, like Master Qui Gon said he would.

There was a knock at the door. When Anakin skipped over and answered it, he found Healer Eerin waiting with a smile on her face and something under her arm. She had been nice to him, so far, but he was still faintly suspicious of everyone in the temple. They gave him so many  _ looks _ . 

“Hi, Anakin!”

“Hi?” He didn’t know what she was here for, and she seemed to understand that. 

“I’m just dropping off a few things for Obi Wan, don’t mind me,” she said as she walked by him and towards his master’s room. 

Anakin shrugged. “Alright.”

He returned to the table and continued to stare at his toy, flipping it over and observing as it flopped onto the table. Low voices came from the room, distracting him, before Bant walked out and sat down at the table next to him. 

“What are you doing, Anakin?”

Anakin sighed. “I’m  _ trying _ to name this toy. But I can’t figure out what to call it.”

Bant smiled. “Do you want Obi Wan to help?”

Anakin glanced up. “Yeah, but I thought he was sleeping.”

“Not right now, he’s just working in bed. Come on, I’ll go with you.”

Anakin found his master sitting up in bed, staring at a datapad (hmph. So he  _ wasn’t _ sleeping.) 

“Anakin!” His master looked tired, but also happy to see him.

“Hi, master. Bant told me you could help me name my toy.”

Bant followed him into the room. 

“My master and I used to name things by coming up with anagrams of our names. Do you know what an anagram is, Anakin?” Bant asked. 

Anakin nodded. “You rearrange the letters,” he replied.

She nodded. “So, for your toy… let’s think. What’s an anagram for your name, Anakin?”

“Hmm… Nakina. Or Inkana.”

“Exactly.”

Bant looked expectantly at Obi Wan. 

Anakin’s master looked at the ceiling for a moment. “Let’s see... Wobani?”

“Yes!” Anakin said (maybe a bit too loudly, as his master flinched at the sound)

“Yes, master, that’s perfect,” he said in a quieter voice. “I’ll name it Wobani!”

Bant grinned. “Alright Anakin, let’s leave your master in peace now.”

“I’m glad you found a name,” she said as they left the room.

Anakin smiled back. “So am I”

The memory seeped through the bacta, from which he couldn’t simply shake it off. He was trapped, reliving it over and over. Wobani. The toy had been lost sometime during his-- no, no, not his,  _ Anakin Skywalker’s _ apprenticeship. How long had the planet been in existence? How had he not heard of it before?

What were the rebels doing on it? Was there something deeper--

No. Thrawn may have believed in looking at details, but he also didn’t let his feelings get in the way.

And neither did Vader. Anakin Skywalker was dead. Obi Wan Kenobi was (not) dead, but he liked to believe he was. Bant Eerin was dead. Wobani (the toy) probably burned along with the temple, from wherever it had been discarded in his quarters. Wobani the planet… would have to take a spot on the back burner for now. He had other things to deal with. Other  _ idiots _ to deal with. 

“My Lord, Director Krennic has arrived.”

Vader inwardly smiled. The man was stupidly ambitious, with no respect for the authority figure around him. Maybe he could finally use the line he’d been saving: be careful not to  _ choke _ on your aspirations.

Yes, that would do. He shut out the memory of Wobani as he emerged from the bacta.

He had work to do.  


**Author's Note:**

> It's definitely Anakin, not Vader, that makes that stupid joke about Krennic and choking while choking him, and no I don't accept constructive criticism. No sith could make such a bad joke. 
> 
> The dragon from the intro is from the ROTS novelization!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


End file.
